Stocks finish higher as tech, internet firms lead the way

NEW YORK» Stocks in the U.S. finished mostly higher Wednesday, a break after two days of steep losses. Technology and internet companies and retailers were responsible for most of the gains.

The gains came from high-growth stocks such as retail and industrial companies, and energy companies benefited as crude oil rose about 2 percent. Smaller and more domestically-focused companies surged. Those sectors have slumped over the last two months. Despite the gains Wednesday, the S&P 500 is down 3.2 percent so far this week.

Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell, said the market has tumbled this autumn because growth in the global economy and in company profits is slowing, and investors are worried that the situation will get worse.

Young said Wall Street essentially has a two-item wish list for the holidays: a general trade agreement between the U.S. and China, and a sign that the Fed will raise interest rates at a more gradual clip.

President Donald Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, are scheduled to discuss the trade situation at a Group of Twenty summit this month. If those things transpire, Young said, the stock market will settle down.

The S&P 500 index rose as much as 1.1 percent in early trading but finished with a gain of just 8.04 points, or 0.3 percent, at 2,649.93.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.95 points to 24,464.69. The Nasdaq composite climbed 63.43 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,972.25. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 19.27 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,488.28.